1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to chairs and, more specifically, to a portable lift chair comprising an extendable collapsible lightweight frame with one or more wheels fastened to the rear of the frame providing means for porting the chair to a desired location.
The seat portion is pivotally hinged toward the front of the frame with at least one hydraulic or pneumatic device applying a force toward the rear of the seat so that in the non-operative position the seat member has a positive slope providing a user with a controlled decent to a seated position and a lifting force while standing from said chair. The hydraulic or pneumatic device is connected to the front of the chair frame through a pivotal bracket that aids in folding the chair to its compact state. And is connected to a bracket on the backside of the seat. Additionally, the seat may be detachable so that other types of seat may be inserted for other purposes, such as having a seat with an aperture passing therethrough for use of a bed pan or chamber pot.
The present invention provides that the backside bracket may incorporate a plurality of attachment points providing a user selectable force during pivotal movement of the seat. The aforementioned attachment points may include a fastener and a series of spaced apart apertures with the fastener inserted through a desired aperture or the hydraulic/pneumatic device may incorporate selectable apparatus for designating a desired operative force.
Furthermore, the present invention also provides arm rests on each side of the seat to aid the user during the task of sitting and standing, and it is envisioned that the arm rests may have in whole or in part some padding thereover.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other chairs devices designed for lifting. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,303 issued to Mayfield on May 25, 1948.
Another patent was issued to Paulson on Mar. 3, 1964 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,400. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,841 was issued to Holley on Dec. 5, 1989 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 10, 1992 to DeWeese as U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,812.
Another patent was issued to Carter on Jan. 5, 1993 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,355. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,280 was issued to Norman A. Deumite on Sep. 13, 1994. Another was issued to Smith on May 9, 1995 as U.S. Pat. No. Des. 356,203 and still yet another was issued on May 6, 1997 to Logan, Jr. as U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,389.
Another was published to Vaughan on Feb. 12, 2004 as U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0026977 and still yet another was issued on Feb. 21, 2006 to Bressler et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 7,000,998.
A chair of the nature described comprising a leg frame, a cross rung between the legs thereof, a shackle link pivotally secured adjacent one end of said cross rung a vertically disposed back member pivotally mounted on the other end of said shackle link a seat pivotally secured at each end to said back and said leg frame respectively and means pivotally secured to said cross rung and said seat at each end thereof for urging the said seat arcuately upward and the said back vertically upward.
An invalid's chair including a wheeled chassis, a turntable mounted for rotation on said wheeled chassis, a chair comprising a seat and a back, a hydraulic jack between the back and the turntable, said hydraulic jack including a cylinder fixedly secured at its lower end to the turntable, a piston in said cylinder, a pump for pumping fluid within the cylinder to raise the piston, a piston rod secured to the piston, means between the piston rod and the chair back to permit limited sidewise tipping of the chair, said chair back being provided with spaced apart front and rear panels and narrow side panels joining the front and rear panels and terminating short of the lower end of the cylinder, stabilizing mechanism between the chair seat and the turntable to resist said tipping of the chair, and means conveniently located with respect to a person seated in the chair for controlling the up and down movement of the piston and the chair.
A device for assisting invalids into and from a seated position, e.g., over a toilet. The device has a frame and a seat hingedly attached at the front thereof to a support member which is vertically slidable on the frame. A stop is associated with the hinge to prevent the seat from pivoting below the horizontal attitude. An extendable arm is connected at one end to the frame and, at the other end thereof, to the seat between the hinge and the center of gravity. Control means selectively activates extension of the arm to initially vertically elevate the seat in the horizontal attitude, and then to pivot the seat upwardly to assist an individual seated thereon into a standing position; or activates retraction of the arm to initially pivot the seat into a horizontal attitude, and then to vertically lower the seat in a horizontal attitude to assist an individual into a seated position. The extendable arm may be electrically, pneumatically or hydraulically operated, and the device may be portable and adapted to be positioned over a conventional toilet.
The invention is an improved wheel chair in which the seat may be raised or lowered by a hand powered hydraulic ram mechanical means to levels that match the surface of the chair or bed to which the patient is being transferred. A commode function is also provided. The chair comprises a base having swivel casters and fixed wheels, an upper unit having a seat and backrest and a hydraulic pump, and a seat raising mechanism consisting of four pairs of interconnected levers connected by two cross bars in such a way that when the bars are pushed apart by a hydraulic ram, the separating motion is amplified to give the desired range of chair seat travel height.
The housing of an air valve, the valve controlling the height of a vehicle seat supported on a suspension having an air spring, is pivotally connected to one of the frames of the suspension supporting the seat. A manual control lever connected to the housing is operative to change the angle of inclination of the housing for selecting a desired height of the seat. A control arm of the valve is connected by a linkage to the other frame of the suspension. These connections to the air valve control the valve for selecting a desired height and for automatically restoring the height for different weights on the seat.
A chair with an automatic standing aid and a wheelchair which incorporates these features are provided. These chairs can raise or lower an occupant automatically while compensating for the change in the center of gravity with stabilizers. The stabilizers allow the chairs to be lightweight, small in size, and independent of heavy supporting bases. The chairs can be used to replace those on existing wheelchair power bases.
The ornamental design for an invalid lifter for toilets, as shown and described.
A lift seat includes a seating surface, for example, a toilet seat, mounted on a supporting frame by a four-bar linkage. The four-bar linkage includes a lower link fixed to the frame and an upper link fixed to the seat. An armrest is attached to a front link of the four-bar linkage for pivoting therewith against the bias of the spring which loads the four-bar linkage as the seat is lowered from a raised position in a seating position. Energy stored in the spring is then available to lift the person from the seating position back to the raised position. A damper is connected to the four-bar linkage to prevent abrupt movement of the seat as the four-bar mechanism collapses and expands, while a gas spring is provided to initially resist movement of the four-bar linkage from either the expanded or the collapsed condition unless the armrest is initially rotated.
A lifting device suitable for assisting the elderly, invalids or those recuperating from surgery to rise from a seated position to a standing position includes a rigid base (2) connected by a hinge (4) to a rigid seat (3). A closed bag (5) is interposed between and is secured to the base (2) and seat (3). By inflating the bag (5) the seat may be raised from a substantially horizontal position to a raised position to assist a seated person to rise to a standing position. A cushion (17) may be provided on the seat (3). The device may be used in reverse to assist a user in moving from a standing position to a seated position. A suitable inflation pump and control gear is provided to admit air to and remove air from the bag (5) via a tube (12).
A chair is operable between a seating position and a rise-assist position. The chair comprises a base; first and second legs; a seat pivotally connected to the first and second legs; and a back pivotally connected to the seat. The chair further comprises first and second members pivotally connected at a first end to the legs, and pivotally connected at a second end to the back. At least portions of the legs, first and second members, back and seat form first and second four-bar linkages, respectively. At least one biasing member is pivotally connected at a first end to one of the base and at least one of the legs and pivotally connected at a second end to at least one of the four-bar linkages. The at least one biasing member operates to assist movement of the chair between the seating position and the rise-assist position.
While these chairs may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.